1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a transport device for securing elongated items during transport and storage, where a transport device includes at least two sets of profiled beams, where a set of profiled beams includes at least two or more profiled beams, and where each profiled beam includes a first end and a second end, an underside, a top side and to side faces, where a number of transverse cutouts are arranged at least at the underside and through the two side faces for bearing on and partially surrounding the elongated items, where a set of profiled beams include at least two profiled beams, namely a first and a second profiled beam, where a first profiled beam at least includes jointing means that are accessible from the top side, and where a second profiled beam is adapted for disposition immediately over the first profiled beam, and at least including downwardly projecting jointing means for engaging the jointing means at the top side of the first profiled beam.
2. Description of Related Art
Within, e.g., the oil industry, it is common to handle elongated items such as long cylindric pipes. Such pipes may, e.g., be drill pipes or casing pipes which at one end are provided with external screw thread and at the other end with a corresponding internal screw thread. It is thus possible to join such pipes into a theoretically infinitely long pipeline. In order to form such a pipeline there is a need for having a considerably number of pipes available. In order to ensure safety during transport and storage of such pipes, various kinds of containers and/or transport frames have been developed over time where the pipes are more or less fixed and thereby secured against inadvertent rolling or being displaced in other ways. By such solutions it is possible to stack up to several packets of pipes in transport frames upon each other and juxtaposed. At the same time, it is appreciably easier to handle these transport frames with crane equipment since a transport frame is a very well-defined size in which the individual pipes are fixed. Thus, there is no risk of a stack of pipes being displaced, exposing personnel to danger.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,080,864 B2 discloses a solution where pipes are fixed between profiled beams with cutouts corresponding to the external shape of the pipes. By this solution it is possible to dispose up to several layers of pipes upon each other as the layers are separated by profiled beams. When a packet of pipes is packed, fittings that fix the ends of respective profiled beams are mounted as the latter are provided with projecting means at the ends. The projecting means are passed into corresponding cutouts in the fitting and the upper profiled beam and the lower profiled beam are subsequently connected by a bolt or the like extending from the projecting means of the upper profiled beam to the projecting means of the lowermost profiled beam whereby the fitting is kept in position, and whereby the finished packet with pipes is finally fixed. Then the packet is ready for transport or storage. Transport will typically occur by use of crane equipment by which the packet is lifted to a ship or a lorry for further transport. If the drill pipes are to be stored, this is often done on a harbour area or in connection with an oil drilling facility. If the oil drilling facility is placed ashore, sufficient space may be present in some cases, but particularly on offshore oil drilling platforms there is an express need for storing packets with drill pipes in a minimum of space, and often with several packets placed closely together and in many layers upon each other. This storage is advantageously to occur so close to the place of application as possible in order thereby to avoid further transport.
However, by the prior art solutions for transport and storage of drill pipes and/or casing pipes there are some disadvantages. Some disadvantages appear during packing and some during unpacking. A particularly great disadvantage by a solution as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,080,864 B2 is that in order to get access to the pipes, all layers in the packet concerned are so to say to be loosened, and thereby the entire packet becomes more unstable and potentially dangerous to work at. As packing and unpacking both include manual work, accidents may happen very easily. The reason for the fact that all pipes are loose as soon as the packet is opened is that the whole packet is held together by the fittings, but not the less due to the bolts connecting the uppermost profiled beams to the lowermost profiled beams. Furthermore, there may be problems with dismounting the fittings if more packets stand close to each other, why there is a practical need for spacing between the individual packets. In principle, a packet according to U.S. Pat. No. 7,080,864 B2 takes up more space than actually required since it is not possible to open it without having access to the sides of the packet.
The mentioned fittings are intended for lifting the packet and may, if other means for lifting are applied, be obviated. The need for space along the sides is minimised hereby, and the packets can be disposed close to each other. However, there is still the inexpedient fact that the entire packet is loosened when removing the bolts, and the associated hazards are still present. Moreover, by the prior art solutions it is not possible to roll pipes in the upper layer of a packet on the packet concerned or to the packet disposed at the side of the packet of pipes concerned. This can frequently be necessary and advantageous as the respective packets with pipes thus can be used from the top and down, irrespectively whether speaking of one, two, three or more juxtaposed packets. The reason that pipes cannot immediately be rolled on the top of a packet and possibly to another packet is that the profiled beams are made with cutouts in which the pipes are located. This is required to ensure that the whole pipe packet does not become too unstable when the packet is loosened by removal of the long bolts connecting the uppermost profiled beam with the lowermost profiled beam. Bolts, fittings and profiled beams are all to be removed as well and stored in disassembled condition, further impeding the work process.